“It’s increasingly unlikely I’m going to endorse, but I want to … think it through,” he told POLITICO. “I’m coming to the conclusion I could be more helpful focused on the Senate Conservatives Fund and not getting over-involved in a presidential race.”

This year, the sidelines are packed with Republicans who are steering clear of the endorsement game even though their states are expected to play an outsized role in choosing the nominee. A look around the members of Congress from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina shows an indecisive — or even indifferent — bunch of lawmakers who see an unsettled presidential field and are deciding they could spend their time better elsewhere.

The phenomenon is stretching to DeMint’s Palmetto State colleagues, like Rep. Tim Scott, also a tea party favorite, who has not yet been driven to endorse.

“There are some folks [who] need to spend more time in South Carolina,” Scott said, adding that “of course,” he’s referring to Mitt Romney. “He says he wants to come, but in the end, whether he comes to my town halls or not, he needs to be present in South Carolina a lot more than he is.”

It’s not just South Carolina. From New Hampshire Rep. Charlie Bass to veteran Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and his Hawkeye State colleague Rep. Steve King, bold-faced names in early voting states just aren’t interested — at this point or, in some cases, through the early contests — in putting their political capital on the line behind a candidate for president. This is a departure from previous election cycles, when many early-state lawmakers endorsed in the summer and early fall, before the early contests began.

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The reasons are plentiful. The primary field is extraordinarily fluid and, frankly, unimpressive to many Republicans. Conservatives have not yet anointed a favored candidate, instead shuffling through a number of figures.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was once seen as a savior, but his candidacy has floundered. Herman Cain is facing damaging sexual harassment allegations. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has fallen off the map. And Romney is still viewed skeptically by many elements of the Republican base.

“The candidate [who] wins is the candidate willing to be different from the other candidates, and I have not seen that differentiation on issues that I can support,” Bass said in an interview.

The lone exception to endorsement avoidance is Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, who has backed Perry. He’s the only lawmaker from Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to endorse a candidate who is still in the race.

Another New Hampshire lawmaker, Rep. Frank Guinta, is “leaning toward … an endorsement” and will meet with Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman soon when the House is out of session.